When Giants Learn to Dance

Based on Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1989)
When Giants Learn to Dance – Mastering the challenges of strategy, management and careers in the 1990s
Routledge, ISBN 0 415 09098 9

"Whereas bureaucratic management is inherently preservation-seeking, entrepreneurial management is inherently opportunity-seeking.

The major concern of bureaucracy is to administer a known routine uniformly, guided by past experiences, whereas the major concern of an entrepreneurial organisation is to exploit opportunity wherever it occurs and however it can be done, regardless of what the organisation has done in the past.

The post-entrepreneurial organisation brings entrepreneurial principles to the established corporation". p353

Bureaucracy

Post entrepreneurial organisation

position-centred – authority derives from position, and status or rank is critical

person-centred – authority derives from expertise or relationships

repetition-oriented – seeks efficiency by doing the same thing over

creation-oriented – seeks innovation as well as efficiency

rules-oriented – defines procedures and rewards adherence to them

results-oriented – rewards outcomes

pay for status – posts in layers with higher pay for higher layers

pay for contribution – pay by value added regardless of position

restricted information flow – through the ‘correct’ channels

maximised communication links – networking encouraged

assigned job descriptions and territories – people roles are circumscribed

new ways of working encouraged – home territory seen as jumping off point

seek ownership and control – own everything and build the empire

seek leverage and experimentation – stay lean and operate through alliances and partnerships

Three principles emerge to guide post entrepreneurial organisations

Minimize obligations and maximize options

Keep fixed costs low and as often as possible use ‘variable’ or ‘contingent’ means to achieve the organizational goals

Find leverage through influence and combination

Derive power from access and involvement rather than from full control or total ownership

Encourage ‘churn’

Keep things moving. Encourage continuous regrouping of people and functions and products to produce unexpected, creative new combinations. Redefine staff turnover as positive (a source of renewal) rather than negative

"Rewards should come at the end of projects, not on a calendar that is the same for everybody regardless of the work they do; and these moments of reward should mark a clear ending on one intense effort and a pause for personal life before beginning the next." p359

The 4 Fs – Focused, Fast, Friendly, Flexible